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College of Sciences
Marine, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences

Alumni Outcomes

Our graduates thrive in a variety of fields, from engineering to education, research and more.

$101,920

Median annual wage for geoscientists, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics

5% Job Growth

Employment of geoscientists is projected to grow faster than the average in 2025-2035

98% Employed

Of the undergraduate alumni we could locate, more than 98% were employed within a year of graduation.

Alumni spotlights

More alumni stories
Headshot of Katelyn Theuerkauf with white Roboto text reading "Alumni Spotlight: Katelyn Theuerkauf."

Katelyn Theuerkauf

As a program officer for the Pew Charitable Trusts, Theuerkauf helps guide the group’s environmental research to inform policy and conservation efforts.

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Headshot of Michael Jordan with white Roboto text reading "Alumni Spotlight: Michael Jordan."

Michael Jordan

As a senior vice president of operations for Terracon, Jordan oversees the safety and effectiveness of the consulting firm’s work in the Southeast.

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Headshot of Sofia Montalvo with white Roboto text reading "Alumni Spotlight: Sofia Montalvo."

Sofia Montalvo

As the operations technical director for the U.S. National Ice Center, Montalvo helps the agency map sea ice to improve commerce and navigational safety across the world.

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Where Do Our Grads Go?

Undergraduate Alumni Outcomes

Based on surveys and exit interviews, approximately 35% of our undergraduates enroll in graduate or professional schools. Each year approximately 50% have career-track jobs at graduation. Remaining students seek bridge programs or career-track employment.

In addition to surveys and exit interviews, MEAS has begun a separate, thorough data collection of our undergraduate alumni outcomes based on data from LinkedIn. This data indicates that for undergraduate alumni from 2016-2025, roughly 28% of our BS graduates continued on to graduate school, although we expect that longer-term averages are higher. A small fraction of students indicated that they are unemployed (<2%), although the employment status of approximately 29% of graduates remained unknown.

This LinkedIn analysis indicates the largest employment sectors are Consulting and Energy, Research and Technology Services and Government, with students employed by organizations like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, private engineering or environmental firms, insurance companies, schools, TV stations and NGOs.

Pie chart of MEAS Undergraduate Alumni Pathways. Outcomes of MEAS undergraduate alumni from 2016-2025, approximately one year after graduation. Data reflects outcomes for 305 of 429 graduates, the rest of which have yet to be identified. Graduate School | 27.5%: Undergraduate alumni enrolled in master’s and Ph.D. programs. Consulting and Energy | 15.1%: Including employment by engineering, environmental and energy consulting companies Research and Technology | 13.4%: Including laboratory research and technician services, data analysis and software development. Government and Military | 12.5%: Including forecasting, technician and specialist services for the military, city, state and federal government agencies, such as NOAA or the National Parks Service Private Forecasting and Broadcast | 7.9%: Alumni conducting forecasts for private companies or serving as on-air meteorologists Education | 4.9%: Including k-12 teaching and outreach, and higher-education employment. Unemployed | 1.3%: Alumni who identify as job-seeking without current employment Other Employment | 17.4%: > Administration, Library Services, Animal Care, Program Management, Law, Private Aviation, Miscellaneous (3.9%) > Business, Sales and Finance (3%) > Food and Hospitality (3%) > Retail (2.6%) > Health and Medicine (2%) > Arts and Entertainment (1.6%) > Agriculture ( Communications and Marketing ( Construction (

Graduate Alumni Outcomes

Based on exit interviews, job placement rates for outgoing MS and Ph.D. students are consistently 91-96% within six months of graduation.

Job types are variable between MS and Ph.D. student graduates but fall into a few main sectors: Academia, Industry, Other Education, Federal Government, State Government and NGO.

Nearly one-third of our MS students continue on for doctoral degrees in their fields, with some of those staying in MEAS to complete further degrees. The remainder are roughly divided between government (e.g., National Weather Service, North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality) and industry (e.g., environmental consulting, scientific suppliers) positions, with a few in other fields (e.g., secondary education).

The majority of our Ph.D. graduates continue in academic positions, going on to postdoctoral or other research positions (e.g., National Laboratories, United States Geological Survey) or directly entering faculty or other university-affiliated positions. Some also move into government or industry positions, though these percentages are smaller than for our MS graduates.